No Stars- A Nico Di Angelo Love Story
by KamrieLeigh
Summary: "You're a demigod. What's your name?" "Mackenzie." The boy in front of me narrows his eyes as if he is debating on a decision. Black hair falls into his face but he doesn't move it. He is twisting his skull ring around and around on his finger. Finally, he holds out his hand, gesturing for me to take it. "Come with me."
1. No Stars Preview

Mackenzie is _dead. _She was sent to the Fields of Asphodel back in the 1970's after barely skipping the Fields of Punishment. She was suppose to be watching the blank faces of souls scatter by like she did every day, but instead she was listening to the heartbeat of a living person. _A living person._

She remembers her life before, she doesn't know how, but she wishes she didn't. She wishes she was just another confused soul moping around. Maybe if she was, she wouldn't have taken the boys hand. Maybe if she didn't remember, she wouldn't have caused the pain that came with being alive again. Maybe if she didn't, she wouldn't have fallen love with the son of Hades. Maybe if she didn't, she wouldn't be sitting alone in the forest with blood covering her hands. But she does remember.

And it's all her fault


	2. Chapter 1- Come Away

Walking among my fellow dead cell mates, the endless meadows of wheat seems more unextraordinary than normal. The nonstop endless breeze brushes across my bare skin and blows my dark hair from my face. My white gown, that matches everyone else's that is here, ripples and tickles my exposed legs.

I decide to get up from my favorite place under a tree to the more darker side of the fields. I have to move past several people, it gets over crowded this part of year. After walking a few yards, it turns dark.

There seems to be more excitement in the crowds of souls today. The meaningless chitchat echoes throughout the fields, causing me to sit on a black bench with my hands cupped around my ears.

My ears are extremely sensitive. I think it's because of the dong they sound off every time somebody enters the Field.

I don't know how long I've been here. It seems like forever, though. It's boring here, there's nothing to do but watch the faces of strangers. Blank and empty.

I use to try and talk to the others, but after awhile, I realized I'm the only one that can keep up a conversation. Everyone else forgets where they are every 10 seconds. Not to mention, they don't even know who they are.

Maybe the reason I remember is because I'm a demigod. Or maybe it's because the stupid people who put me down here wanted me to suffer. To remember my past forever. I shudder. Thinking about those times make me sick.

Somebody sits next to me. They are humming a tune. Wait-… I know that song!

I look at the old lady in disbelief and a small smile forms on my lips. Could it be? Could this lady actually be one to remember? It would sure make this hell hole a lot better to have somebody to talk to. I turn my body to where I'm facing her.

"Roadrunner," I speak. "Jonathan Richman! What a star he is, huh?" I'm practically on top of the lady, anticipating her answer.

"Oh yes! Handsome man." She replies.

I want to shriek in joy but I decide not to because I don't feel like being punished. If they found out I can remember my life, there is no telling what they would inflict on me. "Have you heard _"The Man Who Sold The World_" sung by Lulu and the Luvvers?"

She nods. "Interesting song. Sung by various artist. I prefer the one by David Bowie."

My words gets mumbled together because when I get excited I talk fast. And boy am I thrilled right now! This is the longest conversation I've had in ages! "I'm Mack." I hold out my hand.

The lady gracefully takes my hand. "Elizabeth." I can tell that she was once a very proper lady when she was alive. She also has a strong British accent.

"Do you know any songs by-"The old lady gives me a confused look, making me trail off, wondering what she is thinking. She looks puzzled and my face falls in disappointment. I know that look too well.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

I'm stupid. So stupid for thinking somebody else would be able to remember, be able to be my friend. Or acquaintance. Maybe it's for the best. I don't deserve friends.

I don't respond to the old lady. I rise from the bench and look around. The chaotic talking gets louder and I hear a bang. Then, I hear something I haven't heard in a long time… A steady rhythm.

A demigod, I suppose. Sometimes they come down here for quests. I've only ever talked to one once before, it seems like ages ago. I don't even remember what she looked like. All she asked for was directions.

She had came up to me looking panicked and in a rush. I think she had brown hair. Somehow she knew I remembered, so she asked me the way to Hades place. She left as soon as I told her, without even a goodbye, leaving me in heartbreak. I actually thought she would stay and talk to me longer.

Determined to talk to this new person, I push my way around the souls, following the beat. It gets louder by the second, it's so beautiful. For a second, I selfishly hope that that person dies soon. I'm jealous.

They boy isn't facing me. He is talking to another soul, getting aggravated that she can't keep up a conversation. I stand a few feet behind him and inch my way closer. I can smell his scent. He smells like grass. Fresh grass and trees, a smell I haven't experienced in a long time. I laugh feeling refreshed.

I think he notices me. I watch as he tenses up and his hands go to his sword. He spins around quickly and slashes, but the sword swipes through me. I'm made of vapor.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I thought you were-…." I think he trails off because he doesn't think I'm paying attention. But I am. Oh gosh, he looks so lovely. His voice is smooth, not monotone like the others. His skin is pale, so pale it reminds me of the ghost, but his cheeks have a tinge of red in them. Proof that he has a beating heart. I just want to touch them and feel the warmth. "Never mind. Sorry."

"S'okay."

He whips around once again with a shocked look to his face. His eyes examine me and make me feel uncomfortable. "Who are you?" I bet he realizes normal ghost in the Fields don't reply like that.

"My name is Mackenzie." I hold my head high.

His head tilts to the side. "You remember," He says in disbelief, eyes widening.

I nod in response. Then, I touch his wrist and somehow I don't fall through his flesh. He flinches away very quickly. He's not like I imagined. His hands are freezing.

"How?" He asks me.

"I don't know," I reply honestly. "I've remembered my life for as long as I can remember. Ever since I got in here."

He stares at me very intensively. "Wait… You're a demigod." His black shaggy hair falls into his face.

"How did you know?"

"I can just tell." Is all he says.

I don't want him to leave. I want him to stay so I no longer have to be alone. "Why are you in here? On some sort of quest?"

"I don't do quest. Those are only for campers. I'm a solo son of Hades."

Son of Hades? "So you come here a lot?" I ask hopefully. Maybe he can come and visit me.

"Yeah. I look for people."

"Look for who?" I try to keep the conversation going, my mouth watering to speak. The boy doesn't seem like one to talk much.

"That is none of your business." He shoots, surprising me.

I cross my arms and try to look intimidating. The strange boy just shakes his head at me and mumbles a sorry. He turns to leave but I quickly run in front of him, he easily passes through me.

"Wait! Please, don't leave." I beg. "You're the first person I have spoke to in a long time." Is it possible to kidnap him and force him to stay? Maybe if I had ropes.

He looks at me skeptically, his eyes flickering in thought. For a second, I think he might stay with me. But then he looks uneasy as if he is debating on a hard decision. "I pity you."

I narrow my eyes. Uh, pardon me? "I'm sorry?"

The mysterious boy begins to twist his skull ring around and around on his finger. The smallest smile appears on his face and he mumbles something to himself. At last, he holds out his hand. "Come with me."

Astonished, I shake my head. "Come with you where?" I ask dumbly even though I already know the answer.

"I'll take you with me. Drop you off somewhere safe. You can live again."

"How?"

"I'm a son of Hade, remember? I can do anything." He sounds confident as he extends his hand towards me further.

Is it entirely possible? My body aches to feel heat again and it takes self control to not throw myself at him in desperation. My brain tells me something different.

_Not safe. Remember what you are._

I ignore the voice.

Only thinking of myself, and not the consequences, I take his hand. Somehow it fits perfectly in his. A small smile forms on my lips and I can already smell the woods. "Okay."


	3. Chapter 2- Alive With Consequences

A pool of darkness is all I experience for several seconds. The sensation is so strong, I can feel it wrapping around me, warping me into the oblivion. The only guarantee I'm okay, is the soft touch of the boys hand tight around mine.

Then it's over.

Darkness fades into day and I see the sun. I feel the warmth, tilting my head back and lifting my arms to get a better feel. I can hear birds chirping merrily and I laugh. I laugh and fall into the grass, it's muddy, it probably just rained. I don't care.

I lay down and twirl the long grass in between my fingers, letting it touch each part of my exposed skin. My white gown is filthy in seconds, I forgot how much I loved this feeling. My mane of hair is full of weeds and leaves. A butterfly lands inches away from me and I watch it in awe. So delicate and beautiful.

"Are you done yet?"

The boy is leaning up against the tree, he is wearing a frown but I can swear I see a bit of amusement in his dark eyes.

I pull myself up from the ground and look around more. Trees in every direction. Grass on every ground. A strong warm wind blows, flying leaves in different directions.

"Look!" I yell in excitment. "My hand isn't going through the tree!" I punch the tree, it hurts but I don't care.

"Yes, very cool." He responds.

I take the boys hand but he pulls away. "Where are we?"

His only reply is, "New York."

_New York. _Far away from my old house in little old Virginia.

_Virginia. Home. _

Memories flash through my mind, I try to push them away. _I could never go back._

"The city?" I question, my fingers trailing designs in the tree bark.

"Close," He replies, taking a breath. He looks tired. He keeps using the tree as support to stay on his feet. "We're in a fairly large part of land in nearby Manhattan, if you remember where that is."

"Of course I do," I scoff. "It's by the Empire State Building."

"Correct," He begins to walk to the right, gesturing for me to follow. "You haven't been out in awhile, things have changed."

"Things couldn't have changed that much," I say.

I was wrong.

When we emerge out of the woods, I'm thrown into the new world of electronics. Everywhere I look, someone has their eyes glued to a rectangular looking device. Stunning cars drive around, looking bold and new as ever.

"Thought I would show you around before I take you to camp," My rescuer exclaims. "You need to know about this kind of stuff before you go and meet people."

"Will they know?" I ask. "I mean, that I came back to life..."

"Only if you want them to. If you don't, I won't tell anyone."

"I don't want them to."

He nods and starts to explain the ways of modern civilization. About iphones and computer, what's hot and what's not, what's in and what's out, and even about how the gods live above the Empire State Building.

I try to keep up, only asking occasional questions. I've always been good at memory, but this is just too much to take in.

"You're probably going to need new clothes too. I mean, that gown kind of gives it away…" He leans his weight to his left foot awkwardly. He isn't looking me in the eyes.

I nod. "Okay, okay. What is an "in" store around here?" A smile appears on my face.

He doesn't smile back. All he does is lightly touch me on the shoulder and guide me to the nearest store, which happened to be Walmart.

I look at the boy as if he offered me a dead fly. I remember Walmart, we had some around when I was alive, however long ago that was. It was the lamest store in the world. Whenever a kid at school would show up wearing something that even resembled the Walmart logo, they were brutally bullied.

The sliding doors scare the hell out of me when they open. I almost tackled the son of Hades to the ground when we have to walk through these weird contraptions that beep when we walked through.

He leads me into the women's section. "Pick out anything you want. I have some money on me," He says. "I'll be… Uh, over there." He points to the nearest cash register and walks off.

The clothes are ugly.

I grab random shirts and shorts, having to pick out the smallest size due to being isolated with no food for years. I yank open the door to the dressing room and throw my pile of clothes on the floor.

The mirror makes me jump and I find myself pressing my face against the cool glass, not recognizing the girl in the mirror. I don't remember looking like this. Sure I haven't seen my face in so long, but I always held on to the image I use to see.

Large brown eyes stare back at me. My skin is so pale, it's almost transparent, sickening. My neck bones stick out and when I pull off my gown, I can see my ribs. It doesn't look healthy. I remind myself to eat a large hamburger when I get to this camp.

I decide on wearing a blue t-shirt with a daisy on it. If I would have seen this shirt when I was firstly alive, I wouldn't thrown it into a boiling fire. But now, I want to see as much nature as possibly, even if it is stitched on cheap material.

After seeing how long my leg hair is, I decide on wearing jeans. Folding two extra pairs of shirts and a pair of shorts, I set off to the camping area where I stuff them in a pink backpack. I also grab a toothbrush and a shaver before finding the boy again.

I'm combing my hair with my fingers when I walk up to him. Afraid to spend all his money, I didn't grab a hairbrush.

"Ready?" He asks.

I nod and dump my things on the ceckout counter. After purchasing, we head back outside into the sun where I stop where I am and let the sun shine on me like a plant. Closing my eyes, I take in a deep breath, loving having my lungs filled with air.

When I open them, the boy is staring at me. "What?" I ask, tugging the backpack futher up my boney shoulder.

A small smile forms on his lips, but it is quickly washed away. "Nothing," He starts to walk back into the woods. "I'm a bit tired to shadow travel again, I'm afraid we will have to walk."

"Fine by me," I say. Honestly, I wanted to walk anyway. I love the feel of grass brushing against my feet. After a few seconds, I break the silence. "You know, I've never met a son of Hades."

"Oh yeah?" He steps over a fallen branch.

"Yep. My father, he knew about demigods-" I catch myself. _You can't. He'll figure it out. _"He use to tell me all about them. He said he knew a lot of the children of the gods, but never came across a Hades kid. I miss him. He was very helpful to me."

The last part was a lie. My father thought of me as a monster. I shiver, remember all the nights of being forced to be tapped down inside a freezer.

"That's nice. He might be still alive, we could find him. If you want I could take you there instead."

"No!" I say a little too quickly. The boy raises an eyebrow and I look away. "I want to go to this camp. It sounds… Intriguing…"

"Well you should at least check up on him. If he knows all about the gods, he shouldn't be that surprised if someone came back to life. You don't want to lose him, having no family sucks." His mouth, in a tight line, twitches.

"I never got your name," I blurt.

He doesn't answer instantly. Several seconds pass before he says, "It's Nico. Nico di Angelo."

"Nico," I say. Letting it roll off my tongue. "I like it."

We walk in silence the rest of the way. The sun is setting and I have to stop many times to let my eyes absorb the beautiful colors. Nico has to practically drag me away.

Soon, the trees begin to disappear and we have to climb a large hill. At the top of the hill is a lone tree, one with a strange looking animal underneath it. As we get closer, I realize it's not an animal. It's a dragon.

"Nico," I whimper, clutching on to his arm to make him stop with me. I've heard many horror stories about Dragons, and terror wraps over me.

I just came back to life! I don't want to be sent to the Fields again. If I die again, I may not even go to the Fields! The judges took pity on me last time, they might change their minds this time.

Nico narrows his eyes at me before pulling away and walking right up to the dragon. I expect him to do something courageous, like take out that gleaming sword attached to his belt buckle. No, he just scratches the dragon under its chin.

The dragon purrs in delight and rolls onto its side. Nico waves me over and I cautiously walk towards him. "This is Peleus," Nico says, scratching the dragon behind its ear. "He guards the golden fleece." He nudges his head in the direction of a golden blanket draped around a branch.

My hand comes out and rubs the dragons rough skin. The dragon growls at first, but Nico suggest I scratch his chin, and once I do, I instantly become the dragons best friend.. When we get up to continue our journey, the dragon begins to follow me like a lost puppy.

"No, Peleus," Nico says in a wanna-be Alpha voice. Peleus lets out a muffled gargle that sounds like a groan before laying down.

I follow Nico down the hill, the setting sun provides little lighting but the fierce bond fire lights up the entire field. Cabins are built in a horseshoe shape and the fire is blazing in the middle. I can see a long lake that seems to be leading to a beach. A rock wall stands tall with campers still racing to the top.

I find myself smiling. All these kids, they are all just like me. Well… Maybe not exactly like me. I would place a bet I'm the only daughter of Nyx in the world. Even if I did have a sibling, they wouldn't be here. The camp would probably kick them out, which means nobody can ever know who my mother is.

_You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous. You're dangerous._

That's when the full thought of what I have just done hits me. Now, instead of seeing happy campers, I see dead bodies. Instead of seeing beautiful cabins, I see buckets of blood smothered on the wood. My head spins and I fall to the ground.

_"Your gruesome history will repeat its self one day."_ My father's voice is new and strong, it's like he is here and whispering in my ear.

A flash of memory lights up my eyes. I see my brother's mutated face. I witness myself drowning a blonde girl. I see myself breaking into a house to terminate a family. And now, I see myself hurting everyone here.

I didn't understand what he meant at the time.

I'm a killer.

And I always will be.


	4. Chapter 3- Nico Offers

**Whoa haven't updated this in forever, so sorry! I've been trying to finish my other fanfic before I officially start this one! Bear with me for a few more weeks so I can finish my other story. Once I'm done with that, this story will have my 100% attention!:D**

* * *

"Mackenzie?" Nico says kneeling beside me. "Are you okay?"

My face in buried in my knees and my continues rocking probably makes me look crazy. "No," I say honestly. "I'm not."

He gives my shoulder a slight nudge. "I know it's overwhelming, but it will be better once we get you into a cabin."

"I can't…" Standing up, I turn my back on the camp. "I can't be here. This was a mistake." _Leave now. Leave now. Leave now._

Nico's eyes narrow in confusion. "A mistake coming to camp or being alive again?"

"Both!" I grab Nico by the wrist, bringing my frantic face close to his. "Nico, I can't be here! Take me back! Please take me back!"

He continues to look at me in wonder, but when tears dare to form in the corner of my eyes, he steady's me and stares directly into them. "Calm down. Why such a change in thought?"

"I can't-… You don't want to know."

"Hey, Nico!" A voice calls. My head whips around to see a boy in his late teens, probably around 18. His black hair is wet and in a mess, a fresh cut is plastered on his cheek, but his green eyes still sparkle in excitement.

Nico stands up and gives the boy one of those manly side hugs. Nico looks a bit awkward standing next to him, however, a small smile is beginning to form across his lips.

"Haven't seen you in months! Where've you been?"

While Nico begins to explain his absents, I take it as my chance to creep away. I barely take two steps when the green eyed boy calls, "Hey, where you going?"

I curse to myself and turn around. "I have to leave."

"You're not going anywhere," He responds chuckling, grabbing my wrist and walking me down the hill.

"Really," I protest, trying to tug my arm out of his grip. The sun is beginning to fall further down the sky. "Please, I have to leave!"

"Percy," Nico calls from behind us. The green eyed boy, Percy, stops to look at him.

Nico stutters, trying to come up with an excuse. "She's still a little confused…"

"No problem!" Percy says smiling. "I'll explain everything and take her to the Hermes cabin until she is claimed."

I don't correct him that I've already been claimed. Instead, I mumble, "Cabin?"

"Yeah, new campers stay in the Hermes cabin until their godly parent claims them. They also have to share it with actually Hermes kids, but don't worry, they are very welcoming."

_No. No. No!_ If I'm staying here, I have to have a cabin to myself. I won't risk hurting anybody. In a panic, I look at Nico. Although he doesn't know of my situation, I think he gets the hint.

"It's a little overwhelming, Percy. She can just-… She can stay in my cabin tonight."

I let out a sigh in relief.

Percy's eyes narrow. "That's against the rules, Nico."

Nico stares back at him with a blank expression. "Since when do you follow the rules?"

Percy cracks a smile and then looks at me. Then back at Nico. And back at me. Then back at Nico. And smiles even wider. "Oh, I see."

I don't know what he is talking about, but Nico's face burns bright red. He walks right past Percy, taking my wrist and dragging me along with him.

As we walk, I notice how campers seem to be staying clear of us. Some wave at me, but none actually introduce themselves. Not that I care, the less people I know the better, but I wonder if it has anything to do with the son of Hades next to me.

I'm so caught up in my thoughts, I didn't notice that we have stopped until I bump into Nico. "Sorry,"

Nico shakes it off. "This is my cabin," He says, gesturing to the black building. It looks exactly how I expected. Dark.

We walk in, and it's creepy of how much it reminds me of the Underworld. There is only one window and one bed, the rest of the cabin is completely empty except for the drawer and mirror shoved in the corner.

"What a lovely place," I say with a chuckle.

"Thanks," He responds, taking blankets out of the drawer. He starts to make a pallet on the floor. "Uh, You can take the bed."

I nod and make my way to the small bed. Sitting down, I ask, "You're not… Staying in here too, are you?"

Nico looks at me oddly. "Yeah, I am. Don't let the bags fool you, I need sleep too."

I close my eyes tight. Now what?

I have to tell him. He needs to be safe.

Shaking my head, I push that thought away. No. He would be afraid of me, nobody can find out. Who knows, maybe the curse left me? Maybe it was left behind when I became alive again.

Peeking my eyes open, I find Nico standing a few feet in front of me. He has a pair of athletic shorts in his hands. He looks a bit awkward. "You can sleep in these. I don't remember you got pajamas at Walmart…" He hands them to me and turns around. "I won't look."

I pull off my jeans, not really caring that a boy is in the room. I'm surprised to find the shorts are only a little bit bigger on me. I guess they belong to Nico because he is almost as equally skinny as I am.

I clear my throat and Nico turns around. He doesn't give me a second glance before laying down on his blankets, resting his hands behind his head.

I feel uneasy, he notices. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," I lie.

"Really, what's wrong? You were super excited to get here and when we did, you starting freaking out."

"I guess it just hit me… Being alive and all." Which is partly true.

With that, he nods and turns over to were his back is facing me. I shut my eyes again, trying not to think about what will happen tonight. I know it will come either way, if I'm awake or asleep, as soon as the moon comes up, I will be a killer.

And that's my last thought before my mind goes blank.

* * *

The sun shines in through the one window. At first, I still believe I'm in the Fields, then the images of what happened yesterday burst into my head all at once.

Quickly, I look at my hands. Clear of blood. That's' a good sign.

Next, I check my head. No dreams last night. That's a bad sign.

And lastly, I check my surrondings.

I yelp in surprise when I see Nico staring at me from across the room. He looks beyond tired and staggers when he tries to stand up. He walks towards me and points an accusing finger, his face suddenly wearing an angered expression.

"It would have been nice to know you were a daughter of Nyx!" He yells.

Lost for words, the only thing I can think to say is, "I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry?" He says. "You don't even know what I had to go through last night! I had to summon the dead to keep you from tearing my head off, I am completely _drained_."

My body shakes. I can't control my hands from vibrating. "What did I do? Did I hurt anybody?"

"Fortunately you didn't. I was jolted awake by glass breaking," He looks to the mirror in the corner of the room, it's shattered. "I didn't know what was going on until you tried to _attack_ me. Come on Mackenzie, you could've killed me!"

A single tear falls from my eye. "I can't control it. I didn't want to tell you because I thought everyone would hate me."

Nico sighs and sits next to me on the bed. "You'll may never learn," He says. "Half-Bloods of Nyx are uncommon. The few that I know of didn't have a happy ending. They normally figure out they can't be around others and live a lonely life."

Frowning, "Thanks," I mumble, crossing my arms.

Nico pushes his messy hair out from his face. "Sorry, it's the truth. But I think you should stay here at camp. Chiron can help you-"

"No!" I interrupt, standing up and waving my arms in the air. "You don't tell anybody, alright! Nobody but you knows, okay, di Angelo?"

He holds up his hands in surrender. "I just think it would help you."

"I don't need any help because I'm leaving." I grab my backpack I got at Wal-Mart and throw it over my shoulder.

"Whoa, whoa," Nico protests, running in front of me. "You can't leave!"

I raise an eyebrow. "And why not? Would you rather me murder everybody?"

Nico groans in frustration. "Listen, _Killer_, I want to help you. I actually find it cool to meet a daughter of Nyx. Nyx's figurine had-…" He trails off. "Just let me try to help you, okay?"

My eyes narrow. "You're crazy," I say. "Why would you want to help me?"

Nico sighs. "Because I know what it feels like to feel isolated from others."

I start to chew on my bottom lip. Could it be possible to learn to control, even just a little bit? He kept me from hurting someone last night, but the dead can't keep me down forever. Nothing can restrain me… I learned that the hard way when my father chained me down inside a locked freezer. I clawed my way out, my nails were completely gone when I woke up.

But it would be a chance to be happy again. I could make friends, start over if I had somebody to help me in a good way. Finally, I nod. "Okay."

Nico doesn't smile. He looks serious. I think he is still mad at me from not telling him, but he doesn't let it show. Purple bags raid his exhausted eyes, even worse than last night. "It's not going to be easy… And it's going to be even harder since you don't want me to tell anybody."

"I haven't changed my mind on that, so don't expect me to go around announcing my mother."

"Fine," He grumbles. "But you have to act normal, alright? No freaking out around others and you have to stay with the Hermes kids."

A surge of panic electrifies my body. "What? No! I want to stay with you!"

"I'll be there," He says. "You can stay in my cabin at night, and I basically do whatever I want, so I'll just do whatever the Hermes cabin is doing. And… You have to meet Chiron."

I frown and shake my head. "The camp leader? Nico, I can't."

"It's alright it's-"

A bell interrupts him.

"That would be breakfast…" Nico announces. "Come on," He opens the door. "Let's go meet the others.

With shaky hands and a pounding heart, I follow him out the door.


	5. Chapter 4- I try to be normal

**I'm so sorry for the lack of updates! I'm done with my other fanfic, so I am now working on this one! I had terrible writers block while writing this chapter, so I'm sorry that it sucks! I wanted to post something, so you would all know this story is continuing! **

I can hear the laughter and chatter of the campers even before we walk inside the mess hall. However, as soon as we emerge inside, the talking dies out immediately and everyone's eyes bore into me. My face burns red and then I notice I'm still wearing Nico's athletic pants.

Embarrassed, I shove Nico. "Where do I go?"

"Hermes table," He responds and guides me towards a crowded table near the center of the room. The first thing I notice is almost everyone has the same mischievous look to them. Their eyes twirl in mischief as if they are thinking what kind of prank they will pull next.

"Hey guys," Nico starts, looking at the children of Hermes. "This is Mackenzie, she's new."

A murmur of hello's float around and somebody asks, "Claimed or undetermined?"

"Undetermined," Nico confirms.

"That's weird," A girl says. "How old are you?"

That's when the panic comes back to me. I can feel my whole face going hot and my forehead beginning to sweat. My hands shake and I start to stutter.

How old am I?

I can't remember.

My lips struggle to form words, thoughts swirling my mind. Hopelessly, I look at Nico who eyes me closely. His lips purse and finally he says, "She's sixteen,"

_Sixteen. I am sixteen. _The words echo in my brain, and before I can stop myself, I blurt, "What year is it?"

Nico stiffens next to me, but it's too late to take back my mistake.

Everyone stares at me weirdly. Then two boys towards the end of the table erupt in laughter. I try to laugh it off too, like I was joking. Soon, the entire table wears an amused expression.

While they are busy laughing Nico looks at me in sympathy. He whispers and confirms the year. That's when the reality hits my like a thousand bricks. _I've been dead for over fourty years..._

"She can sit by us," The boy who laughed first offers. He takes me by the wrist and tugs me into the seat between him and another boy who looks exactly like him. At first I'm confused, I look at them back and forth between the two.

But the boys laugh. "Twins," They confirm.

"No, No, noooo," Nico protest, trying to tug me off the seat. "You are not going to sit with _them,_"

"Awww come on. We aren't that bad," One of the twins complain.

"Yeah, we wouldn't do anything to the new girl," The other adds. Then he looks at me, "So what's your biggest fear?"

"Hey!" Nico says, making them start laughing yet again.

"Joking. Chill,"

"You better be," Nico warns. "And I'm serious."

"I'll be fine," I say, confidence suddenly washing over me. Though, I wish nothing more than Nico to stay. Honestly, these two boys are really making me feel uncomfortable.

Nico huffs and looks back and fourth between them and me. He skeptically narrows his eyes at one of the boys, who is holding in a laugh, before walking away to his own table across the room.

"Connor," The twin on my right says.

"Travis." The other adds, grinning and holding out his hand.

_Pranksters. _That's something that Hermes was, right? I stop myself midway of shaking his hand, and instead touching his palm, my fingers wrap around his wrist and turn his hand over, revealing one of those electric shock contraption

These were around when I was alive. Classic. I raise an eyebrow. "I'm not stupid,"

Connor bangs his hand on the table in laughter. "Oh man, bro," He looks at me, "You're the first person to deny a handshake with Travis. Pretty smart."

A smile flashes on my face. "Thanks,"

Travis brushes off his defeat. "So what's up with you hanging around the Hades kid? I mean, he's creepy!"

I look at Nico across the room, he's playing with his food. The plate of eggs and bacon not even touched. "I don't see it."

"He talks to the freaking _dead_! If that doesn't creep you out, your crazy! I've heard he actually brought somebody back before... That's just not _normal_."

_Not normal._ Right, and I'll never be normal...

If these campers were to ever find out about me, I'd be an outcast. And by the way these boys are talking about Nico, it seems his an outcast too. Nobody is talking to him. Nobody is smiling in his direction... If they find out about me, I'll be hated and feared.

When my eyes begin to burn from holding back tears, I stand up abruptly. The pain of sadness not wanting to show, I replace it with anger. Anger for Nico. Anger for these two idiots judging him so hard. It boils off me and before I can stop myself, I say, "I'm not sitting with you guys. You're freaking judgmental shitheads,"

I move myself across the Mess Hall despite their sorry's and protest. My dad's face pops in my mind, screaming at me. If he had heard the word I just said, I'd been a goner. He'd choke me for discipline or scorch me with the matches, trying to get the beast out of me.

The crowding of people makes me lose track of Nico so I go back outside. The sun rays hit me instantly, the warmth already burning my pale skin.

"Hey,"

I jump at Nico's voice. "Oh, hi,"

"Told ya you wouldn't like the Stolls."

My eyebrows crease together. "That is really their last name?"

He laughs without humor. "Yeah."

I bite my lower lip in thought. "How did you know my age, Nico? I didn't even know it, gods, that was the worst thing ever."

The son of Hades shrugs. "I could just tell. You haven't been alive for long, so you still have a bit of ghost with you. I just read that."

"Oh... Well thank you." I smile.

The boy I met last night, Percy, nears us. People at the Hermes table were talking about him and I learned that apparently he is very special being the son of Poseidon and all.

"Hey guys!" He greets, playfully punching Nico in the shoulder. Nico yet again looks uncomfortable, though I smile.

"You know," Percy starts. with a grin. "I heard some preeeettty loud noises coming from your cabin last night. I guess I now know why you wanted her to stay in your cabin so bad, Nico!" He wiggles his eyebrows. "Just you kids use protection, alright?"

Nico looks mortified.

I don't get it.

Nico frantically waves his arms in the air. "That's not- No it's-!"

"Calm down, I won't tell Chiron." Percy smiles at the two of us before patting Nico's shoulder and heading over to one of his friends in the Mess Hall.

I look at Nico. "What was he talking about? And why are you blushing?"

"Um... Uh, nothing. You know, it's time for uh Hermes archery, y-yeah. You should- you know, get over there." Then her dissolves into the shadows.


	6. Chapter 5- People of Camp Half-Blood

"Now just take it back nice and slowly. Yep, just like that. Now release." The arrow flies through the air and staples itself dead in the middle of the target, splitting the other arrow of mine in half.

The Apollo girl, Penny, smiles. "That was awesome! You know, you may be an Apollo kid."

I slowly place the bow on the ground and push a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Yeah," I say a little awkwardly. "Maybe..."

The Hermes cabin is currently doing archery, well, attempting to. Most campers managed to shoot arrows all the way up in trees or in each others helmets. However, I am surprisingly good at it, which is _not_ good at all. I don't need another weapon I can use to kill somebody at night.

The thought is enough to make me walk past the targets and plop myself in the grass. Half the day has gone by and Nico has not returned. Why did he leave me? I've been trying to talk to the least amount of people as possibly, no need to get close to someone when I could possibly hurt them.

My head places itself into my hands, thoughts over controlling me. What if Nico never comes back? What will I do?

_Kill yourself like last time. _

"Hey, are you okay?" Penny asks, coming to sit next to me.

Her presence gives me chills though her aura is like the sun. Her smudged black eyeliner makes her green eyes vibrant. Even though its got to be at least 80 degrees outside, she wears a gray hoodie that is way too big on her petite body.

"Yeah," I smile and give her a thumbs up. "Never better... It's just a little strange being here and all."

She nods. "I get it, I was new once too. It's a big shock finding out and all. It's all bam! Surprise your a demigod! Now go to camp before you die!" She chuckles to herself. "How long was it before you knew you were a demigod? No offense, you seem a bit raggedy. Were you on the streets awhile?"

My lips form a tight white line. I mentally whack my head to find something to say. "Since I was fourteen," I lie. "My adoptive parents are both dead. I didn't know what else to do but run."

"Adoptive? Did you ever met your real mom or dad? If you knew which you had, it could help determine who your godly parent is."

"I had a dad."

Penny frowns. "Aw man! I was hoping you'd be an Apollo kid! It would be nice having a sibling who actually acknowledges me."

My eyebrows crease together. "Your siblings don't talk to you?"

She shrugs. "I mean, yeah, they talk to me. Maybe. Sometimes..." She sighs and pauses as if contemplating to say something or not. "I can't sing."

The corners of my lips can't help but twitch into a small smile. A daughter of Apollo can't sing. "Isn't Apollo like the god of song?"

"Basically," She falls down on her back. "My life is meaningless, it is nothing." She moans.

"Shut up," I laugh, nudging her.

Penny chuckles. "Hey look!" She points towards the rock wall (Which by the way I almost died on). "Your boyfriends back."

Nico stands awkwardly. When he sees me he slowly waves. I stand up and before I walk away, I say, "He's only a friend. I just met him."

"Not what I've heard!" She yells after me.

As I approach Nico, he opens his mouth to speak, though I don't give him a chance to say anything before I punch him in the shoulder. "You left me, asshole!"

The anger boils my skin and I have to remind my self to stay calm. The more I become alive again, the more my old personality returns. And my fatal flaw shows. _"A daughter of Nyx's fatal flaw is anger," _My father once told me.

I take a breath and cross my arms, staring intensively at Nico.

"I'm sorry," He says.

"Where did you go?"

"Chi- The store. I had to get things for tonight."

"Oh," My eyes meet his. "Please don't leave again, okay? You told me you would stay with me along with the Hermes cabin. I thought you left."

"I know, and I'm sorry for that. They, and especially the Stolls, can get out of hand,"

As if on cue, an explosions erupts the air, coming straight from the Ares cabin. The children of war burst out the door, coughing and gagging, all covered in _pink_ dust. A big girl, dust covering every inch of her body except her fierce eyes, cusses loudly.

"STOLLS!" She yells, clenching her fist by her side. She grabs a weapon that lays outside her cabin- a flail- and waves it like a maniac in the air.

I take a step back and run right into Nico. He touches my shoulder, mentally telling me it's alright.

The entire camp has gone silent as the girl, Clarisse, screams. " COME OUT COWARDS. LET ME HAVE YA!"

There-above the roof. Connor and Travis chill, hiding behind the chimney, trying to hold in their laughter. They make eye contact with me and give a wink. I can't help myself. These two boys are _crazy. _I burst into laughter.

Clarisse's head whips towards me and my mouth shuts up instantly, my face going hot red. She prowls towards me, her face scrunched up in pure hate. "IS SOMETHING FUNNY, CORPSE?"

"Clarisse..." Nico warns.

"I'm not talking to you, death boy!" Her eyes are slits in her hard structured face. "Whatcha laughing at? HUH?"

"Nothing," I take a deep breath, mixtures of emotions crawling down my throat. I remain my face a stone.

"Nah, No! You were laughing at us!" The buff girl holds up a meaty fist. "You're not going to be laughing once I'm done with you, little b-"

"Clarisse!" A centaur, an actual man horse, trots up to us. He places a hand on the girls shoulder, who is trembling in anger. "Let it go dear. No need for violence against each other."

Clarisse huffs, annoyed. "She laughed at me, Chiron."

"Oh, child. Please make up for me. Hugs are good."

I give the centaur an 'are you serious look'. Clarisse stares at me harshly and is nudged my Chiron. When she wraps her arms around me, it's more of a neck grip. Like she's about to break my head off or something.

Brutally, she holds me tightly, and spits "Your dead, corpse. Capture the flag tomorrow. I'll have you then," Before pushing me away and stomping back into her cabin.

"Great," I mumble, kicking the dirt and eyeing Nico.

"I don't think we've met before. You must be new." The centaur holds out his hand out and reluctantly I take it. "I'm surprised you have not been claimed yet. Hopefully soon, maybe by tonight. I suppose you are staying with the Hermes cabin until then, correct?"

"Umm yeah," I say nervously. "The Hermes cabin, yep."

Chiron gives me a large small then a pat on the shoulder before galloping off.

I twirl around to Nico. "He knows!" Panic overflows me.

"No he doesn't. Trust me, I know Chiron. He's oblivious to everything."

Behind Nico, a girl is making her way to us. She's tall, a beautiful brunette with her hair braided to the side, waving as she approaches.

Nico tugs my wrist. "Come on lets go,"

"You must be Mack!" The brown haired girl says.

"It's Mackenzie,"

"Lets g-"

"I'm Christene," She says over Nico. She then leans to one side and looks me up and down, her multicolored eyes sketching over every imperfection. I know instantly this girl is a daughter of Aphrodite, her beauty is intimidating. "Oh, yeah. You totally need my help."

My eyes crinkle in confusion. She grabs my wrist and yanks me away, walking fast. Nico hollers behind me, but Christene never gives me a chance to stop. She yaps on and on randomly. I think she even said something about her dead cat.

We barge into the Aphrodite cabin and go in the bathroom. It's not until she practically pushes me onto a salon chair when I know what she is doing.

"Whoa, Whoa," I say, trying to stand up but is just pushed back down.

"Chill," Christene coos. "No offensive but you look like a hobo. And you're wearing boy shorts..." She frowns. "Much potential, just let me beauty you up." She bends down and opens the cabinets below the sink and drags out a makeup bag bigger than me. With a grunt she lifts it onto the table.

"Just give me an hour," She winks. "Then all the boys here will fall over heels with you."

"This is itchy," I complain, tugging on the complicated design, that shows skin- er more like bones, on the back of my shirt.

"Stop messing with it!" Christene demands, swatting my hand away from the blue fabric. She sprays the last bit of hairspray in my curly hair and smiles. "Look at yourself, Mack"

"It's Mackenzie," I huff, turning around to see my reflection.

No longer do I look like death. Somehow Christene managed to turn my hollow face fuller and into a palette of color. My pale skin is sprayed tan, wrist and neck decorated with jewels. The black skirt dares to fall off my small waist, but Christene notices instantly and pins it to my shirt.

When I face Christene, she is smiling like a maniac, proud of her work. She clasp her hands together. "Oh! It's almost dark, gotta get to the campfire."

_Dark?_

My head spins so fast to the window, I'm surprised I didn't get whiplash. The sun is minutes away from setting. "I've gotta go meet Nico!"

Christene frowns and blocks my way from escaping. "Oh no you aren't. You are much to pretty to be hanging around that guy. He's creepy, Mack, no offense. I know he's the one who brought you to camp, but I can introduce you to some of my friends."

"It's Mackenzie. And no thanks," I say sternly, pushing past her arm and walking outside. The camp fire is already blazing, and even though the sun is about to go down, I find myself walking towards the flames in a trance. _It's so warm._

_"_Dang, Mackenzie! What happened to you?" Connor Stoll says.

I give him a murderous glare and he holds up his hands as in surrender. "Where is Nico?"

"Probably in his Cabin."

Nodding, I reluctantly leave the warmth of the flickering flames and head towards his cabin. No knocking, I just barge in. "Nico?"

"Finally!" The son of Hades yells. He jumps out of his bed and his eyes widen when he sees me. "Y-you look different."

"Yeah," I respond, confused at his sudden change in tone. "Christene gave me a makeover."

"Of course she did," Nico scratches the back of his hair. Seconds pass before he says anything else. "Well, we better get started," He pulls a large bag out from under his bed and looks down at his watch. "In exactly 20 minutes, you will be trying to kill me."


	7. Chapter 6- Night

**I just want to say thank you for your comments and I will be updating more frequently! I'm going to try to update about every ten days. So this chapter is written in 3rd person because I don't feel comfortable writing 1st person in Nico's POV. Thanks for reading! Love ya'll!3**

The son of Hade's just finished chaining up Mackenzie to the bed when her eyes turned black. No white, no color, just a whirlpool of darkness.

Nico jumps away as the chains holding her down catch and an inhuman scream claws out of her mouth. She is tied completely up with metal locks, hands behind her back and cuffed. "Let me out!" She commands violently, thrashing around, desperately trying to get out of his locks.

No longer does Mackenzie wear the Aphrodite makeup. She looks like a rabid dog- spit flying from her mouth. Her body twists sadistically almost as if she was being possessed.

"Mackenzie, stop!" Nico yells, suddenly worried for the new girl. Though, the daughter of Nyx does not hear the boy, nor understand. Her brutal new instinct takes over and she wants nothing more than to kill.

Then, unexpectedly, Mackenzie's face softens and for a second, her eyes fade back to a beautiful brown. "Nico, please."

Even though Nico's heart breaks, he knows more than to trust the girl. "No," He says sternly.

Mackenzie screams, her face morphing back into a repulsive angered expression. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! TEAR YOU APART!"

_POP!_

Mackenzie's shoulder dislocates.

She doesn't flinch or even acknowledge it. She continue to break free of the chains, even trying to use her teeth to get through the metal. Her mouth begins to bleed, pouring down her chin.

Nico curses as the girl squeezes her hands out of the cuffs, her wrist raw and bloody. "What have I gotten myself into?" He mumbles.

When it's obvious Mackenzie is about to be released from her chain jail, he calls upon the dead. Nico is still a little weak from last night, but he has do anything to prevent her from leaving the room.

The dead emerges just as the last lock is broken and Mackenzie throws herself in Nico's direction. She's held back and slammed into the wall. Her head smashes against it, making a large hole. It takes five ghost to hold her down.

"I WANT TO SEE YOUR BLOOD!" Mackenzie yells. Then she screams. An ear piercing scream Nico was sure the entire camp could hear, and the son of Hade's eyesight goes black.

He fumbles around blindly, not understanding what is wrong with his sight. It's night all around him-

_Night._

Could this be Mackenzie's doing?

While the son of Hade's is blinded, he is distracted and his hold over the dead disappears. Although, he cannot see, his other senses are strengthened. Nico hears Mackenzie leaping up to him, and he swings around, using the butt of his sword and pounding it against her head.

The connection is broken instantly. The faded colors of the room morph back into the sight of Nico's eyes and he sees Mackenzie laying on the floor in a puddle of blood.

Panicked, Nico bends down beside the girl. He picks up her head to find it bleeding. Though, she is still very much alive. Nico would have felt it if she died.

Mackenzie shoots up. Her hands wrap around Nico's neck, spluttering nonsense words as she whacks his skull over and over again on the hard tile floor.

"Ma-Macken-Mu-" Nico struggles to breath. It takes every last bit of his willpower, but he calls upon the dead. With their help, Mackenzie is pinned to the ground.

Nico gasp for breath and stumbles to his feet.

And just when he thinks nothing can get worst, there is a knock on the door.

"LET ME HAVE THEM!" Mackenzie says from across the room.

"Nico?" Jason questions from behind the door.

Nico cusses to himself, "Go away!" Mackenzie continues to scream inhumanly, and Nico sharply turns around and yells, "Shut up!" The ghost places a hand over her mouth.

"What's going on in there?"

Nico runs to the door, opening it ever so slightly. "What is it?" He asks harshly.

Jason tries to look behind Nico, but Nico inches the door even more closed. "Uh, I just wanted to say bye. Piper and I are going to visit Hazel and Frank at Camp Jupiter," There is a crashing noise behind Nico, making Jason even more curious. "Is everything okay in there?"

"Yes, everything is perfectly fine," Nico assures.

"Lord, Nico! The girl bit off my arm!" The statement confuses Nico, he wonders how a ghost can lose an arm.

"Nico, what's going on?" Jason asks sternly as Mackenzie lets out another scream.

"Nothing!" He says. "It's not of your business. Now please, just leave." And with that, the son of Hade's closes the door in Jason's face.

He turns to face Mackenzie, who is breathing heavily against the wall, her black eyes frantically looking around the room.

"When I get my hands on you, Nico, I will crush your skull with my bare hands. Spread your blood across The Mansion Of Night," She bares her teeth, which Nico notices have turned into sharp fangs.

"Wait. What did you say?"

Mackenzie laughs dangerously. "My mother will have your blood. It's what I was created to do," She struggles against the ghosts hold. "It's what I will do. _Kill_."

"Why does Nyx want my blood?" Nico walks closer to Mackenzie curious for answers.

"Not just your blood," She licks the blood falling from her mouth. "Any blood. Gaea may have failed, but Nyx shall not. NOW COME HERE!"

She breaks hold of the ghosts grip and once again flings herself on Nico. Though Nico is ready. He grabs the metal chain off the floor and whips it against Mackenzie's head. There is a pounding noise, like a brick smashing against the wall as it collides with her skull, making Nico winch.

_That's going to leave a mark. _He thinks.

Mackenzie falls to the ground. This time unconscious.

Staring at the girl on the floor, Nico comes to the conclusion he won't let this girl go evil. It may have been Nyx's plan all along for her, but Nico refuses to let her fate end up becoming a demon of the Night. He sits down beside Mackenzie. "I won't let it happen," He tells her.

Fortunately, Mackenzie stays unconscious for the rest of the night. At first, it kind of freaks Nico out, making him figure something is wrong. But when the sun peaks its way through the black curtains of the window, Mackenzie's eyes flutter open, the black slowly fading away and morphing back into a beautiful brown..


	8. Chapter 7- Capture The Flag

**SORRRRYYY I told ya'll I was going to update every 10 days but its been like 15 because I totally forgot! Oooooopsss! Well here is the chapter! Enjoyyyy and thanks for reading!:D**

Before I even open my eyes, I know the night was dreadful.

The first thing that hits me is the unbearable pain in my shoulder, one that has me winching and moaning in pain just as I open my eyes to the lightly lit room. My mouth is sore and dried liquid is stuck to my face and tangled in my hair.

_Who's blood?_

"Nico!" I yell in panic, pushing my throbbing body off the floor and whipping my head around to look for my new friend. "Nico!"

_No no no nononono. _What if- did I-

The door slams open, revealing a very worn out looking Nico. Not being able to stop myself, I fly my arms around him, wrapping him in a hug. "Oh gods- I thought- there was blood and-"

Nico awkwardly pushes me away. "Yeah, it was your blood," His fingers reluctantly touch my face and inspect my forehead. There's a burning sensation as they meet a fresh gash above my eyebrow. "How are you feeling? Does your mouth hurt?"

"Yeah," Actually, my gums are the thing that is hurting. My tongue curiously searching my mouth to find whatever is bothering me. It rubs across the smoothness of my teeth, then, comes across a hole. A hole that taste like blood.

"MY TOOTH IS GONE!" I scream, my fingers reaching inside my mouth to inspect the wound. The tooth on my bottom row, right next to where people put fake vampire teeth, is missing. There's now only gum, surrounded by dried blood and roots that have yet to detach. "Nico, what did you do!?" _  
_

Nico's arms fly in the air in defense. "Hey, I was tying you up! You tried to chew through freaking chains."

The pain in my shoulder boils. "Did you break my shoulder too?" I snap, suddenly very angry at the Son of Hades.

"You did that!" He argues. "I don't know why your being like this! Trying to blame it on me."

"Well you're suppose to be helping me!" A cry coughs in the back of my throat and I force it down. When Nico said he was going to help me get over this, I guess I foolishly thought he could prevent me from going crazy.

I just disappoint myself. I gave my hopes up...

Nico sighs. "I am helping you. Don't worry, I'll figure it out. I promise."

I shake my head. "Hasn't anyone ever taught you not to make impossible promises? Didn't last night just prove to you I can't change?" My voice cracks, though I shove my emotions away. "I hurt myself, Nico. I hurt myself every night just to try to cause pain upon somebody."

Nico just looks through me as if he didn't listen to anything I said. "I swear it on the River Styx."

My eyebrows come together in shock. "Nico..."

"Lets go," He says. "You need to go get checked out in the infirmary."

I cross my arms. "I'm not going anywhere wearing the exact same thing I did yesterday. As you can probably tell, the Aphrodite clothes are shredded." I gesture down at my shirt and pants which expose pale skin.

"Yeah, that's why I brought you this." He throws me a pair of shorts and an orange camp t-shirt. He looks away as I change and throw my bloody hair into a ponytail. "You can take a shower after you get checked out."

**...**

It turns out my shoulder somehow got dislocated. An Apollo girl named Thalassa helps wrap it up and kept mumbling encouraging words. No, not to me. To my shoulder, and it was really weird.

She cleans out my mouth. "So how'd you lose that tooth?"

"None of your business." I snap.

"She bit into an apple." Nico says quickly, shooting me a glare. "Yep, she's a little embarrassed about that."

"Uh huh," She gives me some Ambrosia, which taste like dirt. Nico surprisingly lets out a small laugh as I struggle to defend myself from Thalassa trying to shove the liquid down my throat.

"So are you participating in Capture the Flag later on?" She asks Nico and me as we're walking out the door.

"Isn't that the thing that Ares girl was talking about?" I ask.

Nico nods. "Yeah, which is why you aren't participating."

"Nico, all she did was threaten me. I doubt she even meant it."

Thalassa chuckles behind us. "If you're talking about Clarisse, then your in for a big surprise..."

**...**

"This is humiliating." I state as Connor Stoll places a helmet on my head that is way to big for me. The armor swallows me whole, making it appear I'm just about as small as a five-year-old.

Connor snickers. "Yep, but it's pretty amusing to us!" He looks at his brother who is holding in laughter. I'd rather not talk to these boys, but they seem to be the only ones who aren't giving me weird looks, which I can't figure out why.

Travis clears his throat. "So you didn't come back to the Hermes cabin last night."

"Uh huh," I say, trying to not grow worried. "and I don't plan on it."

"Where have you been staying? "

"Umm-"

Chiron's hoof thunders the floor. _Saved by the horse... _"Heroes!" He calls. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team shall take the east woods. Red team shall take the west woods. No intentional maiming, please! All magical items are allowed. To your positions!"

Connor and Travis quickly explained the game to me as Percy Jackson led the Red team away. Our side consist on the Aphrodite cabin, Hermes, Apollo, Athena, Hecate, Poseidon, and two others which I can't remember. Unfortunately, Nico is on the Blue team.

We set our flag next to the old Labyrinth entrance, whatever that entrance is surrounded by trees, which was good, but the flag was still clearly visible, which it had to be apparently.

"Christene and Thalassa, I want you to stand on guard duty with the Stolls," Annabeth told the team while Percy nodded. "Hecate cabin, I want you on defense."

"We'll send out a decoy to the left. Annabeth will lead that, and I'll take the raiding party around the right to catch them by suprise." Percy finishes.

"Oh, and Penny and Mackenzie, take border patrol."

"What the heck is that?" I ask.

"It's easy, just stand by the creek and keep the Reds away. Penny knows what to do, and if you need help just holler." Annabeth says and the determination in her eyes tells me not to argue.

Penny guided me towards the creek as everyone's group split. The horn blew, making me jump.

We stopped in front of the creek, just before crossing over into the east side. Penny still wore the same giant hoodie. She pulled the sleeves further down her wrist as the wind let out a chilly blow. Her weapon of choose is a bow and arrow, which looks a whole lot more intimidating than my giant sword I can barely left up.

"Keep your eyes out for Ares kids. Especially with Clarisse practically hating you," She notices I'm having difficulty with my sword and chuckles. "Just swing randomly. After you train more, it will get easier."

"Yeah, hopefully," I mumble. "Whats Clarisse's problem anyway?"

"I-"

Twigs snap all around us. Penny raises her bow just as four Ares kids run out the trees, their swords held high. Well, mostly swords. One of them has an axe, which I find is greatly against safety rules and Clarisse holds a spear.

"Get the corpse!" Clarisse yells as they cross the steam. Penny releases an arrow and it flies, implanting itself inches from a girl with red hair.

"You missed!" I yelled.

The arrow explodes. "Cover your ears!" Penny demands and I do as I'm told. A screeching noise escapes through the arrow, making the Ares cabin double over and cup there hands over there ears.

"Hey! NO SONIC ARROWS!" Clarisse screams, being the first to recover. Penny tries to release another arrow but is too late. Clarrise jabs her spear in Penny's direction. The blinking red dot collides with her skin and I smell electricity.

"Hold this one up, Randy! You others go look for the flag!"

The red haired girl holds down a thrashing Penny. Clarisse slowly walks towards me, a smile on her lips. "'I'll teach you a lesson about laughing at me."

"No need to be rash," I say, trying to force my feet to stay in place and my pulse down. The dark side of me begs to chunks my sword in her face, while the _me_ side of me, just wants to run away.

The two personalities are always circle each other. I can never be both. One normally overthrows the other, and it's usually the dark side. Though I demand the dark side to stay deeply buried inside the darkest parts of my mind until night once again arises.

_Lets do this as a normal camper. _

With no muscles whatsoever, I struggle to raise my sword and Clarisse laughs, calling me a wimp. "Oh so you're actually going to put up a fight?" Before I can respond, her electric spear sends volts vibrating through me.

"Just stop it Clarisse!" Penny pleads. The red haired girl, Randy, has her pinned to the dirt.

I swing randomly. Clarisse doges easily and whacks me again with her electric spear. I fall backwards and Clarisse kicks me in the chest with her boot. She could crush me. Literally crush me.

But I could hurt her too.

Any second I could unleash the fury of night within.

I stand up and scream, throwing my sword in her direction. She wasn't expecting this and dodges a little too late. The blade cuts a thin line across her cheek.

Nobody says anything. Everyone just stares in Clarrise narrows her eyes in fury. "You little-!" She pounces on me.

"STOP IT!" I scream.

Clarisse stops. She backs up instantly, her eyes clouded over with black. "I can't see!" She says. "What did you do to me! I can't see!"

Randy rushes to a tumbling Clarisse and Penny comes to my side. "What's going on?" She whispers.

"I-I don't know."

Then I hear hooting and yelling as Annabeth runs across the creek, the Blue flag in her hands. Apollo kids trail behind her, knocking off still fighting Ares kids. Annabeth stops on our side and catches her breath, a wide smile on her face.

The black clouds in Clarisse's eyes fade away and she looks dazed. She shoots me one last look before walking to her cabin mates.

I'm still in the damp dirt when Nico runs up to me. He throws off his helmet and kneels down. "What happened?" He demands.

"Nothing." I say.

"Um, she just like took on Clarisse!" Penny exclaims excitingly.

"It was nothing," Nico helps me up. "I was just on patrol."

"Patrol?" He says between gritted teeth. "Percy put you on patrol! He knew Clarisse was mad at you and he still did that!" He starts to storm away towards Percy and Annabeth but I catch him by his shoulder.

"Nico, it's no big deal, okay?" I give him a reassuring smile. "Just a few cuts and bruises." I decide it's best not to mention whatever I did to Clarisse.

He stares then nods. "Just stay clear of her."

Stay clear of Clarisse, that will not be a problem. Across the creak, Clarisse and her group of friends stare. Clarisse staying clear of me, now that's tricky. I can see the way shes looking at me. Her shush tone indicates she's already spreading truths or rumors. She knows somethings wrong.

She knows I'm different.


	9. Chapter 8- The Prophecy

The afternoon sun burns into my pale skin, reddening my shoulders. The rays shimmer the quite waves of the Canoe lake. Above, birds fly in the open blue sky as the breeze blows my hair from my face. I take in the scene, a deep breath flowing out of my mouth.

"Mack!" Christene, the daughter of Aphrodite yells, making me jump. She scoops her paddle out of the water and splashes me. "Were you even listening to anything I was saying?"

"Oh course," I grumble. "And for the last time, don't call me that. It's _Mackenzie_."

"Same thing," She waves her hand in the air. "Anyway, we need to talk about what happened last night," Her finger jabs into my bright orange life jacket. It holds on tightly to me, a reminder of the humiliation of not knowing how to swim.

From the very back of the canoe, Penny laughs. We sit in a straight line facing ahead, so I can't see her face. My eyebrows crease in confusion. "What happened last night?'

"Don't play dumb," Christene says. "Everybody already knows."

My fingers tighten around my paddle. No, they can't know. Penny's laughing, and I'm sure nobody would laugh if they found out I was the daughter of Nyx. "Please do remind me of my secret."

This time, Penny speaks. "That you and Nico are totally hooking up!"

I blink. "Hooking up?"

Christene smacks the back of my shoulder. "The FRICKLE FRACKLE!"

"What!" I say, completely horrified. My face boils red.

Why would they think that? Why would they even ask that, especially out in the public! When I was alive the first time, nobody would dare to speak of something so... Embarrassing! Something so private!

"Either you two were having a very heated argument or..." Penny trails.

"No no no-"

"I heard you scream, like a lot, and you were like 'arghh I want you'," Christene exclaims.

"Well that is far from what happened! Did you start this rumor?" I accuse and stop rowing, swinging my body around to face the two girls.

However, Christene only ignores me. "Why _him?_ You're such a doll, Mack. He's like a... ghost. Seriously, you need someone hot. Like Apollo sons." Christene giggles at her own joke.

Penny gags. "Um they are-"

"Is there a problem with ghost?" I shoot sternly.

"Uh yeah!" Christene cries. "they're creepy! Have you seen Nico raise the dead before? It's disturbing. I heard around camp he actually called the dead to take a kid to the underworld. That's not normal."

"Just because he is the son of Hades doesn't make Nico creepy." I say.

"G-" Penny gets cut off.

"Yes it does!" Christene argues, putting her hands on her hips.

"No it doesn't!" I raise my voice, irritation taking over.

"Guys!"

"Yes it does!" Christene yells.

I stand up, towering over her. "No it does-"

Another canoe slams into ours, knocking me off my feet and flying me into the water. The chill strikes me bitter sweetly and our canoe flips over, whacking me in the head and sending me under water.

By the time my life jacket floats me to the surface and I flip the canoe that was trapping me over my head, the enemy canoe is already zooming through the lake.

"ARES, ARES, ARES!" They chant.

Clarisse stands as her siblings row. She looks fiercely at me and mouths something I don't catch. She brings two fingers in front of her eyes then points them at me, a silent motion telling she will be watching.

"OH MY GODS!" Christene screams, resurfacing. Her mascara is streaming down her face, making her seem as if she was a raccoon. "That was so not nice!"

Penny is already pulling herself into the canoe, her giant hoodie even bigger and weighing her down. "Here," She says, holding out her hand to Christene. Christene takes it and Penny helps her up, then helps me.

I cough up a handful of water but the tingling is still biting my nose. Christene rings out her hair. "These are new shorts!" She complains. "Now they are ruined!"

Penny rolls her eyes. "Poor daughter of Aphrodite, afraid of water."

Christene snorts. "I like swimming thank you very much. Just when I have my bathing suit on."

"Well, I tried warning you guys the Ares kids were coming, but you two were too busy arguing!"

"Lets just get back to camp," I grab our paddles from the water and hand them to the girls. We silently make our way to shore and across the way, we can see the Hephaestus campers setting up the fireworks for tonight at the beach.

Curiosity over takes me and I crane my neck to get a better view. It's always been my dream to see fireworks. They seem so beautiful. How do they work?

"It's not as complicated as it seems," Penny says, and I realize I said that out loud. "Want to go check it out?"

A part of me just wants to go find Nico. The other part of me can't help but smile and nod excitedly. Penny starts walking and I follow. Christene looks hesitant but decides to come anyway.

As soon as we approach, I find myself bombard by a boy who reminds me of one of those storybook elves I use to read to my brother.

_My brother._

I quickly push that memory away and look back at the boy with pointy ears. He grins. "Heard you're new, I'm Leo."

"Mackenzie," I reply, giving a soft smile.

Before Leo can even give another reply, I'm hauled away by Chirstene. "Nope, not him. Beware the campfire," When she see's I'm confused, she explains, "He has the ability to produce flame. Do not go anywhere near him."

I'm not sure where Penny went, but Christene tugs on my wrist, which is really annoying me, and drags me to a boy setting up a firework. He starts to explain how it works, and how they made it. Christene looks instantly bored, though I'm mesmerized.

"Hey, Mackenzie," Penny says, walking up behind me. "This is my friend, aka the Oracle, Rachel."

I turn.

And the whites of Rachel's eyes suddenly disappear and are replaced with green. Fog begins to pure out of her mouth. Frantic campers scream and take a step back. From the crowd, Percy dashes foreword and holds onto Rachel's shoulders as she spurts a prophecy.

As much as I want to move, to hide, my feet are stuck to the sand as if they are waiting. My mind knows this is for me.

_"The daughter of Night alive once again_

_Shall head east to the goddess's den_

_A deadly fate, a game to fulfill,_

_Or will kill all against her will._

_For a beast is a beast to kill or to heal_

_Possible to take, for the lost god steals."_

Rachel collapses. Campers run towards her.

My head spins. My breathing is rushed. My entire body is shaking and I pray nobody notices. The ground seems to be tilted and I feel as if I'm walking sideways. I'm backing up. I'm moving away from the beating hearts of the oblivious kids.

And I'm running into the woods with speed I wasn't aware I possessed. I'm running far and far away from the people with blood running through their veins. Far from the innocent with a full life ahead of them.

Then I'm suddenly in somebody arms. The impact of my body hitting theirs sends us spiraling to the ground. But they hold me. And I sob for the first time in a very long time.

"It's okay," Nico reassures. "it's okay."

**YES updated in exactly ten days! The majority of this chapter is a filler but omg da prophecyyyyy! (I tried my best lol) anyway, thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 9- And it Begins

**I AM SERIOUSLY SOOO SORRRRY! I totally forgot all about this haha... So here is a chapter and I promise I will upload next week! Woooooo! Thanks for reading!**

"Rachel said a prophecy." I say dryly after I've cried all my tears.

"I know." Nico replies, shifting awkwardly under my weight.

I don't dare to move. My body aches. My breakdown left me sore and exhausted. The cool breeze has me leaned into Nico, my head resting on his chest, his shirt covered in my tears and snot.

But he never complained.

"We'll take extra precaution tonight. I got something that might-"

"Nico," I interrupt and sit up. "I can't stay here another night."

He crinkles his eyebrows. "What do you mean? I got everything planned, I think I can make a difference tonight."

Shaking my head, "It won't work."

"We progressed last night!" He argues.

"No we didn't." I reach my fingers out, he flinches under my touch as I tilt his chin to the side. There is a cut above his eyebrow, about two inches long. A slight bruise is forming near the left temple and he acts as If I haven't notice his limp.

"I'm not blind. I've hurt you."

He pushes me off. "It's nothing compared to the pain I've felt before." He stands. "You're not going anywhere."

My lips purse tightly until they are white. I stand with my arms crossed. "You can't make me do anything."

Nico's jaw clenches. "If you go out you might hurt somebody!"

"Well if I stay, I'll hurt someone! So it doesn't matter!"

He opens and closes his mouth as if debating on whether to say something or not. Frustrated, he runs a hand through his hair. Finally, Nico says, "Please don't leave."

"I have to do what is best for the people here."

"Your not going to..."

I look down. "No."

No. I'm not going to kill myself. I was so close to going to the Fields of Punishment last time, if I suddenly reappear to the judges again, I will forever be in torture. And for that, I may be selfish, I may be a coward, but I don't care.

I'm going to find a way to change my fate. I read something before in my dads old books, something that may be able to save me. And with the help of the prophecy, I know just where to go.

Without giving him a second look, I push past him and head towards the Hades cabin.

The sun is already starting to set. I rush past the Stolls, who tease me about Nico. I ignore Christene who bugs me about ditching her and I try not to scream as several campers gossip about the new prophecy.

After stealing Ambrosia from under Nico's bed, I run smack into the son of Poseidon and the daughter of Athena on my way out.

"Whoa, there," Percy says, steadying me. "What's the rush?" He eyes my bag and I pull it further up my shoulder, not meeting his eyes.

"Oh, I'm just heading towards the infirmary. My forehead is bothering me." I gesture to the butterfly stitch on my forehead.

Annabeth raises an eyebrow. I can already see the gears turning in her head. _The prophecy. How I randomly showed up. My bag._ The tension makes my neck itch and I let out a cough.

"Is Nico in there?" She asks, looking over my shoulder. I try to block her view. I don't need her seeing the disaster of Nico's cabin from last night.

"No," I step outside and close the door. "You might want to check the beach. Pretty sure that's the last place I saw him."

They nod. "Chiron is holding a meeting about the Prophecy. We need all the Head Counselors there. If there is anyone who knows anything about Nyx's children it would probably be Nico."

"Oh?" I brush a strand of hair behind my ear. "Why do you-?" The lack of brightness outside stops me mid-sentence. I'm going to have to leave as quick as possible, get as far away from the camp as possible. Without another word, I take down towards the woods, not even caring that Percy and Annabeth realized I lied to them.

I head east, trying to form a plan that would get me to my destination as fast as possible.

My feet crunch the fallen leaves as my pace picks up. What if I climbed a tree? Maybe I wouldn't be able to get down when I turn? And If I fall out, at least I would only hurt myself and not the others.

There's shuffling of feet that are not my own and suddenly I find Nico walking besides me, looking as normal as can be.

I stop abruptly. "What are you doing?"

He blinks. "Following you."

"No you're not!"

"Yes, I am." He replies, mocking my tone.

"I already have a plan. You coming would screw it all up!" I throw my arms in the air to emphasis.

He raises an eyebrow. "And what exactly would your plan be, Killer?"

Ignoring the nickname, I hold my head high, "I'm going to speak to Ananke."

Nico's eyes widen in surprise. Then he laughs without humor. "You can't be serious!" In response, I stare blankly. "Oh come on, Mackenzie! What the heck do you expect to say to her? Ask her politely to not make you a villain?

Yes. "No!" I answer quickly. "I don't know! I'll beg on my knees if I have to. She's the only one that would be able to help me. Who's better to talk to than the goddess of fate and destiny?"

He sighs. "This is dangerous. Nobody even knows the location of Ananke. No one has ever seen her before."

"Her daughters have."

"And?"

"I'm not telling you my plan!"

Nico groans. "Can you just get it through that thick head of yours I actually want to help you with this? Mack, I'm your friend, okay? I'm coming with you."

_A friend._ I haven't had a friend since Rose, and that really _really_ scares me. Though, my heart craves a friend. It desires a person to be there for me. "I'll put you in harm. I can't go through that again."

"You let me help before. Let me help again."

"The prophecy-"

"A dumb prophecy doesn't scare me. I'm an experienced fighter. I'm coming with you no matter what. Together we'll change this prophecy, change your fate."

I bit my lower lip. "Okay," I turn on my heel, advancing down the woods. "Okay." I repeat, not wanting to meet Nico's eyes, scared of the feeling I feel inside.

I've never had somebody care for me before. It all just feels so weird, almost fake. If it's not for the crunching of leaves behind me, I would of thought it was all my imagination. It wouldn't have been the first time my mind has played a trick on me.

Just to be sure, after a few minutes of scary silence, I ask, "Have a plan for tonight?"

Nico grabs me by the wrist and twirls me around, a serious look on his face. It's then I notice the bag hanging around his shoulder, glass bottles clanking inside. His hand reaches in the bag. "Yeah, actually I do. I did my research. Please don't freak."

When his hand reemerges from the the bag, my eyes squint to read the worn ink on the bottles. Some sort of liquid is inside, half full, and swooshing back in fourth as Nico hands it to me. A cork sticks out the top and I pull it off. A strong odor blows into my nose, making me instantly shove the cork back on.

Something is familiar about the smell.

"Every heard of binge drinking?"

**THAT IS PROBABLY NOT A GOOD IDEA, NICO HA. WHERE DO YALL THINK HE GOT THE BOOZE FROM HAHAHAHALOL **

**ANANKE= The goddess of Destiny and Fate. She is the mother of the Fates!**


	11. Chapter 10- The Last Day Alive

_"He's looking," Rose sings, grabbing my arm. "Wait! Don't look now! Don't make it noticeable! Okay, look! Hurry!" _

I take a quick glance behind me, searching for the boy who is at the table behind us. David Gray sits surrounded by his friends, biting into a red apple. He's laughing at something a blonde boy said. Then his eyes meet mine.

I quickly turn back around with a gasp. "He saw me!"

"Oh the things I would do to be that apple..." Rose says in a dream, ignoring me.

I can't help my cheeks from reddening. Rose, red headed, freckled covered, skinny Rose, has been in three relationships this year alone. And although we attend a church school for troubled kids, she's already made out with half of the boys basketball team.

As for me? I haven't even had my first kiss yet.

"Hey," A deep voice says from behind me, making me jump. I turn to see David, his black hair perfectly neat and a crooked smile on his lips. "Mackenzie, right?"

"Y-yeah,"

"Well, just so you know, my friend is having a party tonight," He pauses shortly and hangs his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans. "I was wondering if you want to come? Your friend here can totally come too."

"Umm- I- Ya- Na-"

"We would love to come!" Rose interrupts, leaning forward on her elbows. She puts on her signature smile. "Where's it at?"

"Valentine lake," David replies. "Come find me when you get there, Mackenzie." He waves bye and walks across the street to the student parking lot where he gets in a car with his friends.

_I'm going to a party. David asked me to a party. David asked me to a party!_

Rose squeals and clutches my arm. "Who would've though David Gray would speak to you even after you bashed that girls head into the lockers!"

Reality hits me.

I stand abruptly, knocking the stool I had been sitting on to the floor. My lips are in a tight line.

"Where are you going?' Rose asks, jogging to catch up with me down the street. "Hello? Mackenzie!"

"I can't go," I say, trying not to show my anger. I clutch my books closer to my chest.

"Seriously? I'm sure the party is inside, you don't have to worry about the dark."

A sigh escapes my lips. Rose doesn't know my secret. I told her I was afraid of the dark, that's why I can never go outside during the nighttime. Lame excuse, but Rose is gullible.

I normally like to keep my distance from people, but on the first day of freshman year, Rose sat next to me in math class and we bonded over our hate for people. She even laughs when I lose my temper. Like yesterday when I almost fractured a girls skull.

I was so close to getting expelled but our principle allowed me to get out of it because she has a thing for my father.

Girls and guys both were already afraid of me before and after the head bashing. I'm known as the Bipolar Girl. David Gray was the first to speak to me today besides Rose and of course I can't go unless I want everyone there dead.

"It's not about the dark, my dad would never let me go."

Rose grabs my arm, spinning me around. She eyes me carefully, leaning her head slightly to the side, and points to my cheek which is covered in a fading bruise. She's guessed before that my father is abusive, and she's right, though I'd never admit it. "What happened to your face?"

_My dad tried performing an exorcism on me. _"My brother was throwing a tantrum."

Rose stares, skeptical. Then she lets out a sigh, shaking her head. "I can't help you when you lie," Her feet shuffle the gravel walkway. "Well, I'll be at the party tonight. Hopefully you can make it." She turns the opposite way and heads towards her home.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. If only she understood. I want to tell her, but she would be terrified of me.

My watch beeps, making me jump. "Crap," I mumble.

I slide my backpack further up my shoulder and run the rest of the way home. I have to go through the woods, past any sign of intelligent life. My house is old, ruined down with the white paint peeling off. Most of the windows are shattered and covered with plastic to block the wind. The grass is over grown; vines crawl up the walls of the house.

I push open the screen door. My father is waiting for me. "Your late," he says coldly.

"Sorry," I reply, putting my things in the hall closet.

My brother is in the living room in front of the only beautiful thing in our house. A grand piano. His therapist sits by his side, but not too close, he would throw a fit if she touched him.

"Georgie george," I say into the air, not particularly to the six year old. He doesn't respond, he continues to watch the fingers of his therapist. When she stops, its his turn, and he grasp the pattern beautifully.

I look at my dad carefully. "Did you feed him?"

His look is hard and cold. "Of course," He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cigarette then lights it.

When George finishes playing, the therapist stands up and gives me a small wave goodbye before exiting our house. She's a very nice lady and helps us out with no pay.

George taps the same piano key over and over, slowly, but annoyingly. My father lets out a frustrated yell. "Shut him up!" He says from his chair, drinking a beer and trying to watch football on our small TV.

"Georgie George," I call, placing my hand on his shoulder. He ignores me like normal and continues to play his favorite key. "Blue crayon, blue crayon."

George gets up immediately and walks towards his bedroom. He sits on his bed, grabs his coloring book and crayons from the nightstand, and begins to color.

He's autistic.

I've managed to come up with few trigger words but mostly they unfazed him. Blue crayon is the only one that usually always works since coloring is his favorite thing to do. I could be dying on the floor and he would still be coloring, his mind somewhere I'm not aware.

Which is why I have him color at night.

My dad staggers in the room. "Come on," He demands.

I don't want to go. I hate the basement. I hate everything about it but I know I can't stay here. As unwillingly and afraid I am, my feet follow him down the stairs and into the underground room.

If a person were to come inside our house and see the basement, they would probably call the cops. The sight of the room still makes my heart pound even though I've been in here during night for as long as I can remember.

The fridge is in the middle of the room, already open and ready to swallow me. Claw marks are scratched on the roof of the inside, still fresh from the previous night.

"In," He demands. He's afraid too. He's now starting to realize nothing will ever change me and he's scared. He hates me. I'm his demon child.

My dads not sober. When he's sober he would be mumbling nonsense but he's drunk and acting dominate and aggressive.

I climb into the cold, hard, fridge. Of course it's not plugged in, but that doesn't stop the steel walls from being freezing.

He's about to close the door when he collapses.

"Father?" I stand up and lean over the wall. He's on the ground, his beer glass smashed into pieces. "Dad?" I ask in panic, jumping over the wall to feel his pulse.

He's still breathing.

I let out a sigh of relief.

Then the sheer terror of what is happening hits like a thousand bricks.

_He won't be able to tie me up._

"Dad!" I scream. Shaking him over and over. But it's no use. He's out cold. "Dad wake up! Dad please!"

I take a chain from the ground and wrap it around my own wrist, my breathing hard and rushed. My heart is pounding and my legs shake.

"No, no no no no," I say on the verge of sobbing, still trying to tie myself up.

My watch goes off just as my brother opens the basement door.

When I wake, a disgusting odor is in my nose. My hands are bloody. My shirt is bloody. My legs are bloody. But the scary thing is, deep down, there is apart of me that loves the feeling of this sticky substance.

I'm still in the basement. My eyes search the room for devestation.

Then I see him. Laid out on top of the fridge and sprawled out as if being sacrificed. His face is unrecognizable, but I know it's him. It's him. Oh god, it's him.

I let out a scream of agony. My body throws itself on top of him, clutching my brother and crying so hard I can't breath.

_Oh no- please- oh my gods _

"No!" I scream, borrowing my face in his bloody shirt. "No!" I am choking on my own tears. I caress his face in my hands, repeating it over and over.

"Georgie!" My voice cracks.

I back away from him, my hands are shaking and I can't breathe._ I take a breath._ I don't want to breathe. I don't want to breathe.

"Why would you do this to me!" I scream, shouting into the air to the demon that gave me life.

I stare at the blood on my hands and stumble backwards onto the floor. "No, please," I whisper, trying to scrap the drying blood off my palms. I keep rubbing them- pleading for the liquid to be off. _It won't come off- it won't come off-_

Another scream tears out of my mouth. My vision is blurred. My hands wipe away the tears but it just makes the blood stain my face.

Heaving, I pick up my brother in my arms and bury him in the yard.. When I finished putting dirt over his lifeless body, I go back into the basement and take all the chains. Then walk behind my house to the lake.

_The lake where I killed that little girl_

My face is emotionless as I tie the heavy chains around my ankle. The skin around the bone stings in pain but I ignore it. The aching of my chest throbs but I ignore that too- forcing into the depths of my body.

_I have to. _

With the large chains in my hands, I walk into the lake and the ice water chills my skin. When I get to the point where I know there is a drop off, I stop and look back towards my brothers grave. There is no grave marker. Just a pile of dirt covering his young deformed body.

_I murdered him._

"I'm so sorry."

_Then I throw out the chain into the dark water and I'm pulled under._


	12. Chapter 11 - When Darkness Takes Over

**Since I haven't updated in awhile, here is a long chapter! I'm going to put what happened previous to help you remember what has been going on.**

**After hearing about the prophecy, Mackenzie left camp to search for the goddess of fate and destiny. Nico was determined to help her with the journey so he came along. He decided it might help to get Mackenzie drunk so she would act slower or be dizzy like. That night, Mackenzie had a dream, which was really a memory, where she recalled the death of her brother and herself.**

The scream tears out of my mouth.

As if they have a mind of their own, my limps go flying, jerking in every direction on impulse. My throat burns and I can't help the cry that seems to want to purge away every last memory.

"Mackenzie! Hey, now! Hey!" Nico grips my shoulders and shakes me back and forth, trying to bring me back to reality.

My eyes snap open and my lungs gasp for air. Sweat is pouring down my forehead, though I can't tell if it's from the burning sun or the nightmare.

Nico's face is filled with concern. He is leaning in so close to me, my first reaction is to jump back, which causes my head to whack against a tree stump.

He must've realized how close he was because his face turns a soft shade of red and he quickly steps back.

"Oh gods," I say, running my fingers through wet, tangled hair. My clothes are drenched as well and stick to my body.

"Look," Nico starts. He holds out his arms, palms up. "No cuts. No bruises."

"No cuts. No bruises." I repeat, my eyes searching every last inch of him for confirmation. When I see no signs of damage, I sigh in relief and lean against the tree. "What exactly happened?"

Yet again, I have no memory of the previous night. However, I know something was different. Never in my entire life have I dreamt. But now, I can vividly recall every last detail of the memory that haunted me.

"Well, you were drunk," He lets out a short laugh, which surprises me. I haven't heard him laugh before- it was a pleasant sound. "I'm surprised you don't have a hangover."

"I-I have a little headach," I admit. "but details, details."

"We're going to have to stock up on more drinks." The bottles from last night are crushed into shards on the grass. He kicks one. "It was defiantly a lot easier. You were so wobbly you couldn't even walk! It was like you were a zombie coming after me, all slow and stuff. You could still talk a-"

"What did I say?" I demand. Hopefully nothing about what I was dreaming... That's something personal. It's something Nico doesn't ever need to know.

"I don't know." He replies a little too quickly. "You kept on slurring, it was hard to understand."

I eye him suspiciously but decide not to ask anymore questions. My gaze settles on the peeking sun above the trees. "Any idea where we are?"

"Still in New York," He confirms. I nod and stand up. My legs are a little wobbly so Nico has to help me. It's not until we start heading through the thick trees when he asks the dreadful, "What were you dreaming of?"

At first I can't help it. I give him a nasty glare. "None of your buisness."

"We're suppose to be in this together," He reminds me. "If you had a vision or anything- you need to tell me. No secrets."

I raise an eyebrow. "No secrets, huh? Alright, _Nico_, go on. Tell me all about _your_ past." Nico's mouth opens then closes. He doesn't respond and shoves his hands into his pockets, lips forming a tight white line. _That's what I thought._

Some things just have to remain personal. Maybe Nico already knows I've killed myself, he probably found out when we first met. But I'm certain he doesn't know anything about my brother. My sweet, innocent, little brother, whom I killed.

My brother is proof, proof I can kill anyone without thinking even if I love them unconditionally. Every last bit of humanity I have disappears as soon as the sun dies out and the demons of the night are alive.

It scares me. It scares me so bad... I don't want to hurt Nico. He cares- he seems to be the only one that has ever took pity. I don't want to wake up one morning to see him laying there and my hands covered in his blood.

Ananke has to help me.

"The prophecy said to head East," I say after awhile of silence.

"Yeah, I remember. I really do believe we should rethink this plan of yours. It's dangerous. What if something really does happen to you? All of this would have been a waste."

"I know, I know," I say, pursing my lips. "The fates will only appear to those who are dying or about to die. The only logical way to summon them is for one of us to be on the verge of death, and that will not be you."

"The fates _sometimes_ appear," He corrects. "Normally only to tragic heroes..." He pauses. "We need to be in the darkest part of the United States to have a more chance of them appearing. I think that would be Washington. You know, it rains a lot. People get depressed and meet their fate, destiny, ..." He trails off.

My eyebrows crinkle. "Washington could take days! That's completely on the other side of the country!"

Nico tilts his head to the side. "I can shad- eek!"

In his path, the air has turned to mist. In the fog, Percy's face was just forming. His eyes are narrowed in suspicion. "Where-?"

"Gah!" Nico waves his arms through the mist, making the fog disappear and leaving no trace of his friend back at Camp Half-Blood.

I blink. "What just happened?"

Nico huffs and looks around. "That was an iris message. They must be wondering where we are."

Iris message? "The goddess of rainbows?" I ask.

He nods in confirmation. "Yeah, it's a way for demigods to contact each other without the use of cellphones. We're going to have to look out, they might think something happened to the two of us."

"So if they appear..."

"Just walk through it or wave your hand through it. Anyway, like I was saying, I can shadow travel us. Like what I did when I took you out of the Fields." He is still looking around, making sure nobody is following us.

_Oh that thing._ I'm not much of a fan of this shadow traveling. Being a daughter of Nyx, I can see in the dark. However, when Nico traveled us out of the Fields, I couldn't see a thing. I'm not use to not being able to see.

"Okay, lets go then." I hold out my hand.

He eyes my hand and wraps his fingers around my wrist. "I won't be able to take us completely there. We'll go about half way."

Before I can respond, the familiar sensation pulls at the pit of my stomach and I'm thrown into a cold darkness...

There was something about that split second when shadows wrapped around us that made me feel uneasy. It didn't feel like last time; the darkness seemed to _engulf_ me. Not just warp me into the unknown, but as if it was dragging me into the abyss of a pit where I should belong.

It's almost as if hands are pulling me by the ankles. Biting and trying to tear me away from my path. Stupidly, I give into the sensation.

"Stop!" I gasp, overwhelmed, feeling as if I'm tumbling down and down, my world flipping upside down.

All is suddenly still. My eyes begin to adjust to the darkness. "Nico?" I call, realizing he is no longer holding onto my wrist. My voice echoes and I'm instantly aware I'm standing on the edge of a very deep drop.

I peer over the edge and see darkness. Not even my eyesight can see into the unknown. Although Nico is nowhere to be found, and I have no idea where I am, somehow I'm not afraid.

"My beautiful child."

The voice chills me to the bone. Slowly, I turn around.

Everyday I imagined her in my mind. What she may look like, how beautiful she might be... But every image is now crushed, replaced by the true perception of Nyx, the goddess that gave me life.

She is made of heavy fog, her eyes the blackest black, her dress rippling and darker than the hidden part of the moon.

"You're..."

"Yes. I'm your mother." She flashes me a smile. White teeth beam, seeming so out of place in the darkness.

I should me afraid, I should be very afraid. However, I'm more desperate. Disgustingly desperate. My hands clasp out in front of me. "Then you know about me! You can take this away- this this- evil thing that has happened to me! This curse!"

Nyx's eyes narrow. "Curse? No, no. It's a _gift._ A blessing only my children are granted. You should be thankful."

"A gift!" I practically yell. "All this 'gift' has brought me is pain! I've killed everyone I've ever knew! I killed my brother!"

Nyx waves her hand in the air. "He was a waste."

My mouth opens then closes as I try to organize my scattered thoughts. "Take it away! I don't want to live like this!"

Nyx slowly begins to walk towards me. I would take a step back, but I'd fall to my death. "As I recall," She begins, her voice soft and smooth. "You were dead. You didn't have to live like this anymore... Yet, here you are. _Alive. Again. Breathing_. How does that feel by the way? Fresh air, lungs, _a heartbeat.._. You could have stayed dead. But you chose to live again. Why is that?"

Her question startles me. The noise in my head dies out instantly, leaving me in a blank state of mind.

"Selfishness," Nyx says, reading my mind. "Look, child. I will make a deal with you. I know you are traveling with the son of Hades. I took you while he was shadow traveling,"

That snaps me back to reality. "Where is he?" I demand.

Nyx raises an eyebrow. "Oh? Why do you care so much? It's quite rare for a child of mine to.. . Take a liking..."

When I don't respond, Nyx lets out a nervous chuckle. "Oh dear. Now this just got complicated."

"What are you talking about?"

She purses her fog lips. "Let me say this first: this deal, if you accept, ends with you living without my gift."

My heart quickens its pace in anticipation. "How? How! I'll do anything!"

"You only have to do one thing." She reaches her hand into the surrounding darkness and pulls out a silver dagger from thin air. It's beautiful and shiny, delicate and carries a dangerous aura. "Spill the blood of the son of Hades."

"What?" My eyes widen then narrow in confusion, caught completely off guard.

"Sacrifice him in the name of Night," She says, inching closer and closer.

"No!" I say. "No, I-I can't!"

"JUST DO IT YOU HAVE TO DO IT!" Her face twist up in fury. Then, in a split second, every trace of her outburst is gone. She puts back on a soft smile. "It's far too complex to explain the reasoning's... I need his blood. Only his blood. It must be done in four days time."

"I-I can't." My teeth gnaw on my bottom lip so badly, it draws blood.

"You will be free! No more hurting others! No more!"

"I'm already going to see Ananke." Nico is helping me. Why would I kill him?

"Ananke won't help you! I swear it! I know her, dear! And trust me, I foresee it, you will kill along the way if you continue this journey! Countless monster will be on your trail! You can stop it though! Oh boy, yes you can! All you have to do is spill his blood!"

She stops abruptly and holds loosely on the handle of the dagger. She speaks slowly, "right... here..." She traces the blade from the top of my throat to the middle of my stomach.

I push her away. "Stop it! I won't! I will never hurt Nico." Nyx gives me an evil glare. "Now send me back."

"Very well..." She tilts her head to the side. "Take this just in case." She puts the dagger in my hand then waves her arm in a circle motion before I can protest.

The sudden light blinds me and I fall onto my back. The dagger clatters out of my hand and onto the gravel road.

I dust off pieces of rock out from my knees just in time to see a panicked Nico running around the gas station across the street.

"Mack!" He was calling. "Mackenzie!" He still hasn't spotted me, so I call out a quick, "Hey!"

Relief fills his face and he comes running towards me. "I thought something happened! I thought you got lost along the way- I felt you slip as we were shadow traveling, so I stopped and you were gone!" He was out of breathe and breathing heavily.

"It's alright," I lie. "I'm not sure what happened." For some reason I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth.

My eyes catch a quick glance of the dagger on the ground and I mentally debate on whether I should pick it up or leave it. When he looks away, I quickly grab it and put it into my back pocket. Only for monsters... I'm only going to use it if something attacks us. Not on Nico. Never on Nico.

"I don't want to risk shadow traveling again," Nico says. "We're going to catch that train, it's heading east." He points down the tracks a few feet from us. In the distance, a train horn blows, the ground slightly shakes. "Get ready to jump on."

I nod, holding back a _"ARE YOU CRAZY!_". "How fast do you think it's coming?" It would be just my luck to miss my footing and be ran over by a stupid train.

"Fast. Get ready."

I try to focus on the incoming train. I try to focus as Nico makes the first move, jumping through the open door in the fourth car. I try to focus as my feet leave the ground and my body hits a hard surface a second later.

But the only thing on my mind is the dagger burning a hole through my back pocket...


	13. Chapter 12 - A Cat Saves Our Lives

The rain came down in waves until it was a restless whirlwind of shattering glass.

Nico and I's only company is a fat cat (the collar around its neck reads the name: _pRinCeSS. _How it ended up on a moving train, we'll never know) and a couple hundred jars of peanut butter.

It would have been all glory if I wasn't allergic. Nico said he wasn't hungry, which I believe to be a total lie. He probably doesn't want to eat because he thinks it would be rude.

The cat lays on my stomach. I rest my head on the metal flooring of the train, listening to the clanking of the wheels against the track and the occasional clap of thunder.

We didn't close the door to the car we are in. Nico wanted to but I protested. I like to see out even though occasionally a few droplets of water make the cat dig its claws into my chest.

Nico tells me Zeus is upset about something each time a strike of lightening tears across the graying sky. I don't know, though. Storms happen around the Unites States every hour, it's hard to believe Zeus gets that angry.

We've been riding for almost three hours, and no more iris messages have appeared. I suggested it was because it was raining, which surprisingly Nico agreed on. The sun has completely disappeared, which freaked me out at first.

I had thought it was already night, but Nico assured me it was only one in the afternoon (four as of now).

I take a glance over at Nico.

Asleep like a baby.

Looks like one too. As if he is finally in peace...

I find myself taking the dagger out from my pocket, my fingers curling around the blade. The edges are zigzagged, each point sharp and deadly.

"Stop looking at me like that," I tell the cat. Its wide eyes stare intensively into mine. "I'm not going to kill him."

"Meow."

Suddenly the train lurches forward to a stop.

I lean up and look over at Nico, who is now awake and alert. Before he can see, I move the dagger back to my pocket. "I thought you said the train was going to Idaho? No stops."

"It's suppose to be," He says wearily. He stands up and draws his sword.

Nico begins to walk towards the door leading to the next car. Before he has the chance to open it, the train sways to one side and topples us both off balance.

"Nico!" I yell, catching onto the railing to stop myself from falling out.

The cat stands on its tiptoes, the hair on its back flies up as it hisses.

The train stops wobbling and I take a peek outside.

"ROAAAAAR!" A hideous creature with the body of a lion and the wings and head of an eagle flies in centimeters away from cutting off my head.

"Hey! Over here!" Nico is outside in the rain, waving his hands over his head to get the Griffin's attention.

He swings his black sword with a grunt as the Griffin flies at his face. The Griffin dodges the attack and manages to scratch Nico's right shoulder.

"Look out!" I cry.

The Griffin wraps its tail around his sword and flies high in the air. Nico hangs on as his feet lift off the ground.

_Let go, you idiot!_

"Meow." The cat says from behind me.

I bit my lower lip, watching helplessly as the Griffin carries Nico higher. Why isn't he letting go? I look back at the cat. "Sorry," I say. Then I pick up the cat and throw it at the Griffin.

_"MEOOOOWWWWW!"_ The cat tumbles through the air then hits Nico flat in the face by mistake. He's caught off guard and lets go of his sword, causing him to fall ten feet onto the grass.

He lets out a hiss of agony as his knee collides to the ground. The Griffin lands a few feet away with his sword still tied in its tail. Nico makes a dash towards the monster, determined to retrieve his weapon.

The cat is drenched a few feet behind Nico. It looks furious and licks its tusk hungrily. _Wait... Tusk?_

The cat begins to grow and grow. I stare horrified as it gets so tall, it's able to look down at me on the train. Tusk have grown in replace of the cats teeth and fur stands straight up on its back despite the pouring rain.

My hands are numb as I dig the dagger out from my back pocket, trying to decide which monster is more dangerous.

From the corner of my eye, I see Nico has retrieved his weapon. He strikes the Griffin in the nose with the hilt of his sword, sending the creature tumbling a few feet away. Nico gets no break before it pouncing back, tearing its claws into his chest and causing him to fall on his back.

"Nico!" I yell.

"No!" He says, pushing the Griffin away and trying to keep it from tearing into his skin. "Stay on the train! If anything happens- make a run for it-!"

He hasn't noticed the cat which keeps on growing stranger. It's fur- or is that needles?- has turned green.

"I'm not leaving you!" I say and jump out of the train. As soon as my toes touch the ground, lightening strikes inches from my bare feet. "Aah!" I jump to the side and use my arms to brace my fall.

Quickly, I raise my hand to use my dagger then realize It must have slipped from my palms! It's still on the train! Or worst- lost in the tall grass.

We're doomed. So incredibly doomed.

"Use your- argh! " Nico grunts. "Ugh-! Your eye thing!"

"What?" The cats mouth begins to foam.

"Make it blind for crying out loud!"

How the heck am I suppose to do that!?

I try to remember what I did to Clarisse. I don't recall how it worked, I just got really angry then the next thing I knew she couldn't see. I try to focus my anger to the Griffin. I imagine the creatures eyes going darker and darker, getting more and more blind.

"Hurry up!" Nico yells in panic.

"I'm trying!" Come on! Come on you stupid-

"MEOOOOOOWWWWW!"

The cat jumps on the Griffin.

It lands with a thunder that shakes the ground like an earth quake. With its razor sharp fur, talon claws, and tusk, the Griffin didn't stand a chance. The cat squashes it like a bug.

Nico and I gap at the cat for many seconds. We watch as it shrinks back in size and jumps back into the train car.

Nico turns to me. "Did-?"

"Uh huh."

Knocking out of my daze, I jog to him. His shirt is torn, exposing claw marks on his chest. "Oh gods," I say. "Are you okay?"

He grits his teeth. "Been better, but I'm not the main thing to be worried about," He jerks his chin in the direction of the train. It sways back and fourth before falling on its side. "We're going to need a new ride."


End file.
